Articles describing the various benefits of silicon carbide also abound, and the concept of it is no longer unfamiliar to everyone. The outbreak of silicon carbide is closely related to the outbreak of new energy vehicle tracks, this article from the perspective of car companies, sorted out Tesla, BYD, Weilai Xiaopeng, Ideal, BAIC, SAIC, FAW and other new forces to build cars and traditional car companies and silicon carbide those things.
tesla
In terms of development history, the world's first silicon carbide power semiconductor SiC MOSFET was launched in 2011.
As the "first crab eater", in April 2016, Tesla fired the first shot of SiC MOSFET, and since then, SiC has not only become a popular track for semiconductor manufacturers to pour into, but also accelerated into the car.
In 2018, Tesla replaced the IGBT module with a silicon carbide module for the first time in the Model 3. When used, the package size of the SIC module is significantly smaller than that of the silicon module at the same power level, and the switching loss is reduced by 75%. Moreover, in conversion, the use of SiC modules instead of IGBT modules, its system efficiency can be increased by about 5%.
Tesla's Model 3 uses ST's and Infineon's SiC inverters, and it is also the first car company to integrate a full SiC power module in the main inverter.
It is understood that tesla model 3 inverter integrated ST's SiC MOSFET power module, the main inverter requires 24 power modules, each power module is based on two silicon carbide MOSFET die, each car has a total of 48 SiC MOSFET die, in addition, including OBC, slow charger, fast charging pile, etc., can be put on the SiC.
In 2020, Terrass launched the Model Y, and according to Munro & Associates disassembly analysis, its power module rear-wheel drive also uses SiC MOSFETs.
On June 11, 2021, Tesla released the latest model S Plaid, the biggest highlight of which is that it surpassed Bugatti in speed and became the fastest production model in the world. The industry speculates that Tesla's Model S Plaid inverter will continue to use silicon carbide technology, and there are currently 3 models using silicon carbide.
BYD
"Role models are always the best strength". The success of tesla model 3 has effectively caused an uproar in the automotive industry and chips, and has also spawned a series of commitments to the application and development of SiC chips. Among them, BYD has also long been optimistic about SiC technology.
In December 2018, BYD successfully developed SiC MOSFETs, and proposed that in 2023, it will realize a comprehensive replacement of siC semiconductors for silicon-based IGBTs in its electric vehicles, which will be applied to OBC and DC-DC.
In 2020, BYD "Han" became the first model to start a silicon carbide power module. In July 2020, BYD Han was listed, and the SiC MOSFET power device independently developed and manufactured by BYD was installed on the HanEV four-wheel drive high-performance version, so that its SiC module finally achieved an output power of up to 200KW, doubling the power density, and the acceleration of 100 kilometers was only 3.9 seconds, which was 4.4 seconds higher than that of the new generation of Tang EV using IGBT 4.0 chip.
At the end of 2020, BYD announced that it has developed its own silicon carbide chips, and it is expected that by 2023, its electric vehicles will achieve a comprehensive replacement of silicon carbide to silicon-based IGBTs.
On May 13, 2021, BYD expanded its module production line and solicited "SiC sorting machine" and "SiC test machine" from the outside market.
On June 30, 2021, BYD Semiconductor's listing application was accepted, and it plans to invest in the construction of a SiC wafer production line with a total investment of more than 730 million yuan and an annual production capacity of 240,000 pieces.
On August 11, 2021, BYD Semiconductor issued a statement that BYD Han's 100,000th new car was recently rolled off the production line at BYD's global headquarters in Shenzhen, and its motor controller used the high-performance silicon carbide power module independently developed and manufactured by BYD for the first time, which is also the world's first and only SiC three-phase full-bridge module in China to achieve large-scale loading in motor drive controllers.
According to the network transmission plan, it is expected that SiC will be applied to medium-sized car inverters in 2024 and small car inverters in 2025.
Nio Lai
On April 1, 2021, the first production line body of NIO's flagship car ET7 was officially rolled off the production line, according to reports, ET7 adopted a second-generation high-efficiency electric drive platform with silicon carbide power module.
In June 2021, the first silicon carbide electric drive system C sample (batch sample, for process and production test verification) has also been officially rolled off the production line in June this year in Nanjing Advanced Manufacturing Technology Center, the silicon carbide electric drive system will be installed on ET7, marking that Weilai has become Tesla, BYD, another car company that has successfully applied SiC technology to its mass production model power device parts. The silicon carbide electric drive system will be officially mass-produced in 2022 with the delivery of THERA ET7, and the car will be one of the first electric vehicles in the world to apply the silicon carbide power module. With the help of new technology, the ET7 has a range of more than 1,000 kilometers.
In October 2021, NIO will develop a SiC power module process experiment line and add a number of test equipment. At the same time, NIO has also signed a long-term agreement with a supplier partner of silicon carbide power modules to ensure priority supply. In the future, FURTHER ACHIEVEMENTS IN PROMOTING THE APPLICATION OF SIC to NEW ENERGY MASS PRODUCTION MODELS WILL BE HIGHLY AWAITED.
On November 29, 2021, the first batch of pre-production vehicles of ET7 officially rolled off the production line, as the first car under NIO, the mass production process is steadily advancing based on the electric drive system of SiC power module.
The SiC power module is mainly used in the former permanent magnet synchronous motor system in the ET7 electric drive system, which replaces the traditional silicon-based IGBT power module and makes up for the disadvantages of the traditional silicon-based IGBT voltage range is narrow and the current through is not large enough.
It is worth mentioning that the silicon carbide power module is expected to be equipped with all models including ES8, ES6 and EC6 in the future.
On December 18, 2021, NIO announced that ET7 will open the lock order on January 20, 2022, and the delivery will begin on March 28.
On nio day 2021, NIO released a model equipped with a SiC power module electric drive system, the medium-sized intelligent electric coupe ET5, which is expected to start delivery in September 2022. The ET5 is equipped with a new generation of high-efficiency electric drive platform for NIO SiC power modules.
For the SiC silicon carbide industry, 2021 is the first year of the outbreak of SiC applications, and SiC has also become a place of competition for various car companies; for Weilai, it can become a car company that has successfully applied SiC technology to its mass-produced model power device parts after Tesla and BYD, and has also given itself a place in the wave of "SiC on the car" road.
Xiao Peng
Xiaopeng is the first car company in China to adopt an 800V silicon carbide platform.
Dr. Liu Minghui, Vice President of Xiaopeng Motors, said: "We hope that in 2022 and around 2023, Xiaopeng will be able to adopt SiC-related products. He listed power devices as the company's next step to improve. Xiaopeng Automobile is also very concerned about the localization of SiC modules.
On November 11, 2020, xiaopeng Automobile's electronic control team visited the Guangdong Greater Bay Area Integrated Circuit and System Application Research Institute and expressed its optimism about the future prospects of SiC power semiconductors.
According to reports, Xiaopeng has laid out the electronic control scheme planning of the third generation of semiconductors, and is also actively looking for domestic module suppliers and electronic control solution companies.
On November 19, 2021, the Guangzhou International Auto Show was officially opened, and Xiaopeng Motors officially released the new model of SUV Xiaopeng G9, which is the second mass production model using silicon carbide in China and the first mass production model based on the silicon carbide 800V platform in China.
In order to give full play to the advantages of the 800V platform's supercharge technology, Xiaopeng Automobile will also lay the first batch of 480kW high-voltage supercharge piles produced in China to achieve a maximum range of 200 kilometers after charging for 5 minutes. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in the third quarter of next year.
Xiaopeng realized that although SiC has many advantages, it also faces many challenges, such as device cost, yield, EMC, module packaging, thermal design, etc. To this end, Xiaopeng hopes to work with industry chain partners to jointly promote the standardization of SiC in intelligent networked vehicles and promote the application of third-generation power semiconductors in intelligent networked vehicles.
Ideal car
Li Xiang, founder, chairman and CEO of Ideal Automobile, once said that the silicon carbide electric drive system is one of the four core technologies of ideal automobile high-voltage pure electric platform.
Ideal is currently developing high-voltage fast charging technology and plans to launch two pure electric platforms, Whale and Shark, both of which are 800V high voltage pure electricity and 400kW high-power charging piles in 2023. In the same year, a high-voltage pure electric vehicle model will be launched based on the platform.
Pure electric model launch rhythm: In the 2020Q3 earnings conference call, Li xiang said that before the maturity of 400kW fast charging technology, ideal car will not launch pure electric models. And said that the range extender technology has a 5-10 year leading edge in large SUV and MPV models.
400kW fast charging technology support:
1) Voltage platform above 800V;
2) National standard of 500Ah super fast charging;
3) Batteries with a charge rate of 4C or more.
That is to say, while the ideal launch of pure trams in 2023, some users will be able to experience the charging experience of 400kW immediately.
BAIC BJEV
In December 2016, BAIC BJEV signed a strategic agreement with CRRC Times, focusing on cooperation on technologies such as IGBT modules and silicon carbide. According to Hunan Daily, CRRC Times Electric has the highest standards for the current international SiC (silicon carbide) chip production line.
In 2018, BAIC BJEV began the development of SiC controllers, and BAIC BJEV is also one of the earliest enterprises in China to carry out mass production of SiC material controllers for complete vehicles. Mainly used in automotive OBC and DC-DC.
At the beginning of 2019, the first completely in-house developed Prototype SiC motor controller was developed.
In 2019, BAIC was equipped with silicon carbide diodes from basic semiconductors and other companies, and conducted "extreme high temperature" and "extreme low temperature" tests, and this time BAIC will test the silicon carbide power module, along with Xiaopeng Automobile.
In August 2020, BAIC BJEV, equipped with a silicon carbide motor controller, completed a summer high temperature test in Turpan.
On July 29, 2021, Basic Semiconductor held a launch ceremony for the loading and testing of silicon carbide power modules in Shenzhen, and the basic semiconductor vehicle-grade silicon carbide power modules equipped with test vehicles adopted multi-chip parallel current sharing design, copper belt bonding process, all-silver sintering connection and other technologies, with high power density, high reliability, low parasitic inductance, low thermal resistance and other characteristics, and the comprehensive performance reached the international advanced level. The test vehicles were from Xiaopeng Automobile and BAIC BJEV
In addition, Beijing Anpeng Xingyuan New Energy Industry Investment Center (Limited Partnership), invested in SiC semiconductor company Shanghai Zhanxin Electronic Technology.
Junxin Electronics mainly provides Power Conversion Solutions with SiC power devices, SiC driver chips, and SiC modules as the core, and Junzen Electronics has started the product research and development of 6-inch SiC MOSFET since its inception, and has mastered the 6-inch SiC MOSFET and SBD process, as well as the SiC MOSFET driver chip.
At present, BAIC BJEV has become one of the few domestic new energy automobile enterprises in China that has fully mastered the core technology of pure electric vehicle three-electric vehicle and integrated matching control technology.
Saic
In March 2018, SAIC motor and Infineon established a joint venture, SAIC Infineon Automotive Power Semiconductor (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
In September 2020, Bloomberg reported that SAIC was exploring ways to secure its supply of silicon carbide chips, including joint ventures with component manufacturers.
In March 2021, SAIC Volkswagen's Drive Systems Division officially approved a project to develop a SILICON CARBIDE "three-in-one" bridge product for the MEB platform. After completing the investigation of silicon carbide materials and power modules, the project team decided to cooperate with "Zhen drive Technology", a leading supplier of silicon carbide power semiconductor modules in China, to accelerate the development process.
At the end of June 2021, the project team completed the product design and development of the silicon carbide electronic control part.
From July to November, the project team independently completed the integrated trial production and testing of silicon carbide "three-in-one" bridge on the company's internal bench.
In December, after several months of testing, iteration and verification, the product was unveiled at the "SAIC Volkswagen Pre-research Technology Demonstration Day".
According to the bench test results, this Volkswagen brand's first set of silicon carbide bridge electric drive products not only matches the strict technical needs of all aspects of the MEB platform, but also has a comprehensive improvement in efficiency compared with the current electric drive products.
Recently, SAIC Volkswagen officially announced the completion of the trial production of silicon carbide "three-in-one" bridge, which will be installed on the ID.4 X model in the future. This technology will effectively improve the vehicle's endurance level.
On November 30, 2021, SAIC Motor and its market-oriented private equity investment platform Shangyi Capital jointly invested 500 million yuan to complete the A-round investment in Jita Semiconductor, a leading manufacturer of automotive-grade chips and SiC power devices in China, to help CTA Semiconductor accelerate the research and development process of IGBT and SiC power devices, and promote the independent controllability of automotive core chips.
It is worth mentioning that at the beginning of 2021, Shangyi Capital also participated in the investment of Shanghai Han Salary and the layout of the SiC track. Shanghai Han Salary Technology Co., Ltd. is a high-tech enterprise dedicated to the research and development and production of the third generation of wide bandgap semiconductor power devices and power modules, is a domestic company that can mass-produce vehicle-grade silicon carbide MOS tubes and diodes and ship them to well-known customers around the world.
From this point of view, not only semiconductor companies, but also the "scramble" for silicon carbide of car companies has also started, and traditional car companies represented by SCO have also begun to enter this new and hot track.
Toyota
Since the 1980s, Toyota's Toyota Central Research Institute has been working with Denso to develop SiC, and in 2007 Toyota began to participate in the development of SiC.
In 2010, Toyota began experimenting with the main inverter of silicon carbide.
In 2014, Toyota launched the SiC MOSFET, but due to the high cost and immaturity of technology, the technology has been slow to develop.
In the same year, Toyota installed silicon carbide semiconductors jointly developed with Denso on models such as the Prius and Camry.
In January 2015, Toyota applied silicon carbide diodes to buses;
In April 2020, Denso and Toyota established MIRISE as a joint venture to conduct research and development of next-generation advanced automotive semiconductors.
On December 10, 2020, Toyota announced that the "MIRAI" model uses Denso's silicon carbide boost power module.
In March 2021, Toyota announced that it had developed a zero-defect 6-inch silicon carbide substrate with Kansai Gakuin in Japan, claiming to reduce the BPD (basal surface dislocation) of any size and supplier of silicon carbide substrates below 1.
Toyota applied siC diodes to second-generation FCV models, and has also developed all-silicon carbide controllers and used them on in-vehicle chargers. Toyota believes that about 20% of the various factors that affect the fuel economy of hybrid vehicles are caused by power semiconductors. Therefore, the high efficiency of power semiconductors is one of the key technologies to improve fuel efficiency. It is necessary to develop power semiconductors in-house to improve the efficiency of vehicles.
Honda
In 2008, the Honda Institute of Technology and ROHM jointly developed a high-power power module for electric and hybrid vehicles. Its biggest feature is that it consists only of SiC devices. A global first. Mainly using ROHM's SiC component technology and Honda Technical Research Institute's power module technology.
In 2009, Honda Institute of Technology disclosed the development of a SiC-made BJT (bipolar junction transistor) that is being developed jointly with Nippon Denon Industries.
ROHM is conducting research and development of SiC devices and inverters not only with the Honda Institute of Technology, but also with Nissan Motors. Both have been collaborating with ROHM for many years on HEV/EV applications of SiC semiconductor technology.
Honda corporation developed the fuel cell vehicle Clarality as a mass production vehicle, in which the fuel cell boost converter is the world's first silicon carbide intelligent power module (SiC-IPM), as well as four-phase staggered control, magnetic combined reactor and other new technologies. Thanks to the use of such new technologies, the volume of the boost converter using conventional technology is reduced by about 40%.
SiC-IPM enables all power module components to be converted (switched) and replaced by traditional silicon power elements (insulated gate bipolar transistor IGBTs) with higher performance SiC components. The new SiC power components have very high performance.
Modern cars
On March 25, 2021, Webtech received an order from Hyundai Motor worth "hundreds of millions of euros (more than 700 million yuan)" to supply Hyundai with an 800V silicon carbide inverter.
Wispan Technology plans to start mass production of the first SIC inverter from 2025, when the demand for SIC solutions is expected to increase significantly. Webtech prefers ROHM Semiconductor as its silicon carbide (SiC) power device partner.
On September 3, 2021, according to the Seoul Economic Daily, South Korea's Hyundai Motor plans to launch a new car in 2022 using silicon carbide chips developed in-house by its company.
Hyundai plans to develop power chips based on silicon carbide technology in-house, with its subsidiary Hyundai Mobis leading the chip design process and partnering with several companies, including system chip maker Magnatix Semiconductor.
On January 7, 2022, Silicon Carbide Substrate Company Scenic signed a cleanroom construction contract with a partner to prepare for mass production of SiC wafers.
Scenic plans to use most of the funds raised through the IPO to strengthen the competitiveness of 6-inch silicon carbide wafer technology and expand facilities, with the goal of completing product certification for major customers, including Hyundai Motor Company, by the end of 2023, with official sales expected from 2024.
Founded in 2004 as a silicon carbide subsidiary of SKC Group, Scenic is the only silicon carbide substrate company in Korea that has successfully developed 2-inch to 6-inch silicon carbide wafers.
General Motors
On October 4, 2021, GM and Wolfspeed announced a strategic supplier agreement that wolfspeed would develop and deliver silicon carbide (SiC) power device solutions for GM's future electric vehicle program.
Wolfspeed silicon carbide devices will enable GM's electric vehicle powertrain. Under the agreement, GM intends to move to more energy-efficient silicon carbide power electronics in its next-generation electric vehicles based on Ultium Drive.
In addition, GM's required SIC power device solutions will be sourced domestically and produced at Wolfspeed's new Mohawk Valley facility in Massey, New York.
General Motors Vice President Hillpan Amin said: "Electric vehicle users are pursuing longer ranges, and we regard silicon carbide as an important material in power electronic design. ”
In fact, in May 2019, Cree (the predecessor of Wolfspeed) announced that it was selected by Volkswagen as the "Silicon CarC Partner of the Future Car Supply Trajectory"; in addition, Infineon is also a strategic partner of the Volkswagen FAST project, and their cooperation point is focused on the power module in the Volkswagen MEB electric drive control solution.
Great Wall Motors
On December 29, 2021, the news that Great Wall Motor invested in SiC substrate company Tongguang shares received widespread attention from the industry.
It is reported that in September 2021, Tongguang's "annual output of 100,000 SiC monocrystalline substrate project" has been put into operation. In the future, Tongguang co., Ltd. also plans to build a growth base and processing base for 2,000 SiC crystal growth furnaces, and the annual production capacity of SiC single crystal substrates will reach 600,000 pieces.
It is worth mentioning that from April 8 to 9, 2022, Mr. Wang Wei, deputy general manager of Hebei Tongguang Semiconductor Co., Ltd., will attend the 3rd China International Power Device Technology and Application Summit for Vehicle Power Supply, and make a keynote speech on "New Energy Vehicle Core Power Chip Manufacturing Material - Development Status and Prospect of Silicon Carbide", mainly for the material preparation, industrial development, market application, future expectations of domestic silicon carbide single crystal substrate material preparation, industrial development, market application, future expectations and other issues to make in-depth analysis.
In addition, Great Wall Motors is also spending huge sums of money to purchase SiC inverters.
On December 16, 2021, Weipan Technology Announced that they have signed a high-voltage inverter supply agreement with Great Wall Motors, with a total amount of up to billions of yuan. According to the agreement, Weipan Technology will match the new generation of high-voltage inverters for the mid-to-high-end electrification platform of Great Wall Motors, which can adapt to different power and module (silicon-based/SiC) applications according to customer needs.
lucky
On May 17, 2021, Geely and Xinju Energy Semiconductor, Xinhe Technology, etc., jointly established Guangdong Xin Yueneng Semiconductor Co., Ltd. to lay out vehicle-grade power semiconductors, and formed a linkage with the core concentrating industry chain.
According to the official micro introduction, the core Yueneng is located in Nansha, Guangzhou, is a chip foundry company for the manufacture and research and development of SiC chips in the field of vehicle regulation and industrial control, with a production line area of 150 acres, and will build an annual output of 240,000 6-inch SiC wafers, becoming the largest vehicle-grade SiC chip manufacturing enterprise in China.
In addition, at the "Smart Geely 2025 Conference", Geely Automobile announced that it will mass-produce its own 800V high-power SiC chip in 2023, that is, it will use SiC to increase the vehicle voltage platform to 800V in the future.
In August 2021, Geely Automobile announced the use of ROMA SiC devices. Geely will leverage ROHM's advanced SiC power solutions to develop high-efficiency electronic control systems and in-vehicle charging systems to extend the range of electric vehicles, reduce battery costs and shorten charging time.
Geely will use next-generation semiconductors produced by ROMA in its core systems for pure electric vehicles (EVs), which are currently in the development stage, and the two companies will promote joint development in this field in the future.
GAC
In addition to Xiaopeng Automobile, GAC Aean, e platform, Geely Krypton, Ideal Automobile, BAIC Jihu and other car companies have also laid out 800V fast charging technology.
Zhan Shaoxin, manager of the technical center of GAC Aean New Energy Automobile Co., Ltd., said: "Power semiconductors are important components of new energy vehicles that are different from traditional fuel vehicles, each electric vehicle needs to be equipped with about 90-100, if it is a four-wheel drive system, the demand will increase by 50%, and the value of power semiconductors in vehicle semiconductors accounts for about 60%. The main performance of silicon carbide is high voltage and high frequency, which in turn derives the characteristics of high temperature resistance and high power, which can improve the energy conversion efficiency and miniaturize the system volume for the whole vehicle. ”
FAW Group
In March 2019, FAW, ACP and EMA Pioneer established a collaborative innovation laboratory to carry out research on silicon carbide technology. In May 2020, FAW led the investment of 100 million yuan, becoming the second largest shareholder of Yima Pioneer.
On May 18, 2021, the silicon carbide module project of Suzhou Yima Semiconductor, a joint venture of FAW Group, was officially put into operation, with an investment of 200 million yuan in the first phase
It is understood that FAW's Hongqi car has been tested on the silicon car car, they plan, the future will develop 800V silicon carbide system, in the next few years, Hongqi models will officially use silicon carbide devices.
JAC Motors
On April 21, 2021, JIANGHUAI Automobile and Bosch signed a strategic agreement on silicon carbide inverters and other aspects. The two sides carried out exchanges and cooperation on all aspects of 400V and 800V electric drive systems, silicon carbide inverters and electric drive bridges.
Chery
On November 8, 2017, Luxiao Technology cooperated with Chery to establish Kerry New Energy Automobile Co., Ltd. Smiling parts and components products have been included in Chery's supplier system, if Chery's new energy vehicles to use SiC devices in the future, the cooperation between the two will also have a very natural advantage.
Luxiao Technology in the past few years firmly transformed the layout of SiC project, took the lead, the current Luxiao has a 4-inch, 6-inch SiC equipment manufacturing capacity, Luxiao Technology in Hefei SiC project phase I has completed the installation and commissioning of the main equipment, in September can basically achieve 6-inch conductive SiC substrate small batch production.
Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi (Alliance)
In September 2019, STMicroelectronics was selected to supply Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi (Alliance) with high-efficiency silicon carbide (SiC) power electronics for on-board chargers (OBCs) in upcoming electric vehicles. As the SiC technology partner chosen by Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi, ST will provide design support to help maximize OBC performance and reliability.
Renault Group
In June 2021, Renault and STmicroelectronics announced a strategic partnership to ensure that Renault's production requirements for wide bandgap (third-generation semiconductor) devices are met by 2026-2030. The two companies will also collaborate to develop highly efficient and size-appropriate SiC (silicon carbide) and GaN (gallium nitride) technologies and products to improve the power performance of electric and hybrid vehicles.
Land Rover Jaguar
In 2017, Jaguar's FE inverter used silicon carbide semiconductor materials, and it has 4 years of silicon carbide racing data, which is invaluable to the engineering team.
In 2018, Jaguar reportedly released the I-TYPE 3 powertrain, equipped with more than 800 new parts such as the silicon carbide module inverter, and the overall powertrain efficiency of its car has increased by 25%, capable of generating up to 250kW of power, from a standstill to 100 km/ h in just 3.2 seconds.
On December 19, 2021, Jaguar Group announced the establishment of Jaguar Land Rover Motorsport, and James Barclay, managing director of the group, said in an interview that silicon carbide will be the focus of the division's technology.
In addition to formula racing using silicon carbide, James Barclay also said that "now silicon carbide is entering Jaguar's production cars".
Mercedes-Benz
In November 2018, ON Semiconductor announced that it is a supplier of silicon carbide and gallium nitride to the Mercedes EQ Formula E team.
In February 2021, ON Semiconductor and Mercedes announced that their technical collaboration has led to significant advances in the car, with its silicon carbide inverters improving the performance of the car, exceeding previous designs, while also significantly increasing torque and acceleration.
It is understood that Mercedes-Benz's silicon carbide technology has passed the test of 140 competition items, or the equivalent of 10 seasons
On January 4, 2022, "Mercedes-Benz" official micro released a new concept car VISION EQXX, which has disruptive innovations.
EQXX can achieve lightweight and efficient fast charging, and it is also inseparable from silicon carbide electric drive. According to Top Gear, all of the EQXX's electric drive internal components and materials have been super-optimized, key to which is that it is carefully matched with a Mercedes racer-designed inverter that uses a new generation of silicon carbide MOSFETs.
Maserati
On December 20, 2021, Maserati's official website announced that its new MC20 convertible prototype officially left the factory and walked out of the door of the Factory in Modena, Italy, which will be Maserati's first all-electric vehicle and uses 2 silicon carbide inverters.
In terms of silicon carbide device suppliers, according to the announcement released by Bosch Semiconductor in December 2021, their silicon carbide devices will debut on electric vehicles in Mercedes and Maserati.
According to reports, the electric version of the MC20 is equipped with a battery of 450-500kg, the battery is concentrated in the rear of the vehicle, but by using an 800V silicon carbide system, the electric version of the MC20 has excellent performance, with a maximum speed of 310 km / h, and its speed of 0-100 km and 0-200 km is 2.8 seconds and 8.4 seconds, respectively, faster than the gasoline version mc20, which is 2.9 seconds and 8.8 seconds, respectively.
Porsche
On October 1, 2018, Porsche unveiled a fast charging system that uses 800V silicon carbide technology.
Lucid Motors
On October 30, 2021, the US electric vehicle company Lucid officially began to deliver the first batch of Lucid Air Dream Edition, which supports a 900V charging architecture, which uses silicon carbide technology and has a DC fast charging power of up to 300kW.
It is reported that the delivered model has been produced at its plant in Arizona, USA, on September 28, and the first batch of about 520 vehicles will be delivered.
Hon Hai
On August 5, 2021, Hon Hai (which has started car manufacturing) acquired Wanghong's 6-inch fab in Zhuke for NT$2.52 billion (about 587 million yuan).
Hon Hai revealed that the purchase of this factory will be used to develop and produce third-generation semiconductors, especially SiC power devices used in electric vehicles.
Zero running cars
The zero-run silicon carbide controller is also scheduled for mass production by the end of 2023.
According to Zhu Jiangming, this set of silicon carbide controllers can increase the upper limit of electric drive power by another 300kW and increase the endurance by more than 4%.
Cloudy Cars
On April 21, 2021, Zhang Zhen, vice president of public relations of Yundu Automobile, revealed that Yundu is developing a new generation of motor controllers based on silicon carbide as a power component.
Apollo
On March 30, 2021, Li Century announced that it intends to invest 2 billion yuan to set up a joint venture in Shanghai to launch the Apollo brand electric sports car and luxury electric vehicle in China, which will use technologies such as 800V silicon carbide dual inverters, and is expected to launch prototype models in the second half of 2021 and start mass production in 2023.
Cyrus
On November 23, 2020, Xilis, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Xiaokang Group, announced that the first self-encapsulated silicon carbide inverter has passed the joint test of the electric drive system and has developed 400V and 800V silicon carbide inverters.
Golden Dragon New Energy
On September 29, 2020, Sanan Integration signed a strategic agreement with Jinlong New Energy to jointly promote the prototype trial production and batch application of silicon carbide power devices in new energy bus motor controllers and auxiliary drive controllers.
On June 23, 2021, Sanan Optoelectronics announced that the first phase of the Hunan Sanan Semiconductor Base with a total investment of 16 billion yuan was officially lit up and put into operation, which will create the first domestic and the third vertically integrated industrial chain of silicon carbide in the world. It is reported that the production line can produce 30,000 pieces of 6-inch silicon carbide wafers per month.
Yutong Bus
In June 2020, Star Semiconductor announced that the 1200V silicon carbide power module developed in cooperation with CREE has been adopted by Yutong Bus, and it is expected to start mass loading in 2021.
Volkswagen TRATON
On November 18, 2020, Shojin Electric released its silicon carbide controller for vehicles and revealed that it had received a bulk order from TRATON Group, a commercial vehicle group owned by Volkswagen
The Silicon Carbide (SiC) controller independently developed by Jingjin Electric has the advantages of high switching frequency, high efficiency and high power density. And the use of the latest auxiliary power system patented technology of Precision Electric. This feature ensures safe driving of the vehicle in the event of loss of 24V low voltage. The product is suitable for passenger cars, commercial vehicles and logistics vehicles in medium and high voltage levels.
Write at the end
From an application perspective, at the end of the day, SiC devices are ideally suited for electric vehicle power supply designs. In addition to traction inverters, SIC devices can also be used in in-vehicle chargers and DC/DC converters. For example, recently Dongfeng Motor is suspected of having a SiC automobile project, and it is estimated that the future demand for SiC motor controller functional safety products alone will reach 200 million yuan / year.
Although the silicon carbide business has been industrialized for more than 10 years, it will not usher in a boom until 2021, so we are also willing to say, "2021, the first year of the silicon carbide outbreak." Coupled with the rapid rise of the global new energy vehicle market, SiC's "getting on the car" road is becoming more and more "crowded", of course, we also hope to see more car companies, Tier1 and other enterprises, the industrial chain work together to achieve a win-win situation under such a hot track.